Contributions
Abstract: P264
Type: Poster
Abstract Category: Clinical aspects of MS - Diagnosis and differential diagnosis
Introduction: Early characterization and treatment, as well as personalized therapy of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients, are currently the leading challenges in the field of MS. Since MS diagnosis is straightforward and drugs that affect MS pathogenesis do exist, there is a great need for a specific biomarker that derives from the biological characterization features of the disease. some of such biological disease related features are axon diameter distribution (ADD) and axon Conduction Velocity (ACV) which have been recently demonstrated in vivo, in the Human brain, and revealed the ADD as a novel microstructural biomarker that is related directly to a physiological property (ACV). These two axon related properties, ADD and ACV affect dramatically axonal function on health as well as diseased conditions. In this study we demonstrated the axon diameter dynamics as a novel biomarker for MS early detection and progression.
Methods: 25 healthy subjects and 21 MS patients underwent an MRI scan using AxCaliber protocol at the sagittal plane, perpendicular to the corpus callosum (CC). The series of diffusion images were used to calculate the ADD in the form of gamma function following the representation of each CC voxel by gamma-distribution expected value.
Results: Our results revealing variation of the ADD within and between both groups, along the CC. While in the healthy subjects, the expected pattern of small axons in the genu, moderate in the splenium and larger in the body parts was observed, in MS subjects that is not the case. It seems that the body parts of the CC are affected more than the anterior and posterior parts, whereas the former demonstrated 20% decrease in axon diameter, the latter showed 10% (genu) and 15% (splenium). Moreover, when comparing the callosal sections between healthy and MS groups, a significant differences in axonal morphology were found at all callosal sections (r< 0.035).
Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that the ADD, as computed from AxCaliber, is sensitive to the fine microstructural properties of the white matter and can detect abnormalities in axon sizes. The ability to characterize the dynamics of axon diameter in both healthy and MS patients may act as a new biomarker of white matter neurodegenerative processes. Moreover, the variability within the MS group may implicate on different phases during MS cycle and may serve as a new practical in-vivo tool for MS pathology evolution.
Disclosure: Assaf Horowitz: Nothing to Disclose
Abstract: P264
Type: Poster
Abstract Category: Clinical aspects of MS - Diagnosis and differential diagnosis
Introduction: Early characterization and treatment, as well as personalized therapy of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) patients, are currently the leading challenges in the field of MS. Since MS diagnosis is straightforward and drugs that affect MS pathogenesis do exist, there is a great need for a specific biomarker that derives from the biological characterization features of the disease. some of such biological disease related features are axon diameter distribution (ADD) and axon Conduction Velocity (ACV) which have been recently demonstrated in vivo, in the Human brain, and revealed the ADD as a novel microstructural biomarker that is related directly to a physiological property (ACV). These two axon related properties, ADD and ACV affect dramatically axonal function on health as well as diseased conditions. In this study we demonstrated the axon diameter dynamics as a novel biomarker for MS early detection and progression.
Methods: 25 healthy subjects and 21 MS patients underwent an MRI scan using AxCaliber protocol at the sagittal plane, perpendicular to the corpus callosum (CC). The series of diffusion images were used to calculate the ADD in the form of gamma function following the representation of each CC voxel by gamma-distribution expected value.
Results: Our results revealing variation of the ADD within and between both groups, along the CC. While in the healthy subjects, the expected pattern of small axons in the genu, moderate in the splenium and larger in the body parts was observed, in MS subjects that is not the case. It seems that the body parts of the CC are affected more than the anterior and posterior parts, whereas the former demonstrated 20% decrease in axon diameter, the latter showed 10% (genu) and 15% (splenium). Moreover, when comparing the callosal sections between healthy and MS groups, a significant differences in axonal morphology were found at all callosal sections (r< 0.035).
Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that the ADD, as computed from AxCaliber, is sensitive to the fine microstructural properties of the white matter and can detect abnormalities in axon sizes. The ability to characterize the dynamics of axon diameter in both healthy and MS patients may act as a new biomarker of white matter neurodegenerative processes. Moreover, the variability within the MS group may implicate on different phases during MS cycle and may serve as a new practical in-vivo tool for MS pathology evolution.
Disclosure: Assaf Horowitz: Nothing to Disclose